Tesla Motors and Toyota partner to create electric vehicles

When it comes to developing electric vehicles it seems that Toyota and Tesla Motors won’t be competitors. The companies have announced a partnership to jointly develop electric vehicles and parts. As part of the agreement Toyota will purchase $50 million shares of Tesla’s common stock subsequent to the launch of Tesla’s initial public offering.

Elon Musk, Tesla’s current CEO and co-founder stated:

Toyota is a company founded on innovation, quality, and commitment to sustainable mobility. It is an honor and a powerful endorsement of our technology that Toyota would choose to invest in and partner with Tesla. We look forward to learning and benefiting from Toyota’s legendary engineering, manufacturing, and production expertise.

Toyota’s president, Akio Toyoda, also commented on the deal by saying that he hoped it would remind Toyota employees of the “venture business spirit” since Toyota itself was born as a venture business.

Tesla, based in Palo Alto, California is currently the only automaker in the U.S. that builds and sells electric vehicles approved for highway use. To date, the company has delivered over a thousand of its Roadsters to customers in North America, Europe and Asia.